Disclaimer not mine.

Into the Fire?

Dempsey pushed his foot on the accelerator of the small Ford Escort SRi as he tried to ignore the fact Dave was sat in the car next to him. He was used to having Harry with him and the fact he was forced to put up with the most junior member of the team riding shotgun was not something he was enjoying. He glanced up at the huge Christmas tree as they passed Trafalgar Square. He hoped Harry would be there to see the holidays with him. The thought she may not be almost killed him.

"Dempsey?"

"What?"

"Chas said he was going to get onto the DVLA in Swansea."

"Yeah?" He was beginning to loose patience with the young detective.

"So, if we know who owned the van before it was stolen then we may get an idea who took her."

"We know who took her." Dempsey snarled. "The guys who robbed the jewellery store in Oxford Street."

"Yeah." Dave sighed. "Yeah but we are just assuming the owner of the van had the van stolen. What if he was just saying that to cover his tracks?"

"David."

"Yeah?"

"You are not as stupid as you look." Dempsey smiled slightly as he swerved to overtake a small Renault that was dawdling along in front of him.

"Thanks." Dave smiled as Dempsey shook his head.

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Spikings stared at the now silent telephone on his desk. He knew he had to warn Dempsey but he had no way of contacting him while he was moving. The RT would only work when the car was stationary. The fault was something Spikings knew he had to get fixed, but Harry's kidnap had forced everything else to the bottom of his agenda. He sat heavily in the chair and tried to think about the way the man on the other end of the phone had spoken. There had been no outright threat but he had the distinct feeling the man had known more about his team and the way SI10 worked together than the average person would. He sighed heavily, the average person probably didn't even know there was an elite unit within the Met that sanctioned the use of firearms on a routine basis for it's officers. He closed his eyes and wondered if he really was getting too old for his job.

"Sir?"

He looked up as Chas stuck his head around the door.

"Yes."

"I called Harry's father's house. He isn't there. He's gone to see her aunt in Spain. Won't be home until after the weekend. I also got Harry's file from Personell. She has expressely stated that in the event of something happening to her she didn't want her father contacted until her fate had been determined.

"Trust her to word it like that." Spikings shook his head.

"Yeah." Chas sighed.

"Dempsey would have written, don't tell anyone unless my body turns up."

"That's true. I think it's more or less what she means." Chas sighed. "And he is an old man and he is out of the country."

"True," Spikings sighed. "I'll respect Harry's wishes for the moment but we need to find out what happened to her. You know the statistics for mispers. Especially when there is a misper is a serving police officer."

"Yes, Sir." Chas cringed as he tried not to think about the fact they were probably not looking for Harry Makepeace anymore. The longer she was missing, the more likely it was that they were looking for her corpse.

"Chas?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Apart from Dempsey, who else from America knows what this unit does? Who else would want to get to Dempsey? The man that killed his partner in the States went to prison last year."

"I don't know."

"Ok." Spiking sighed. "If you did?"

"I'd tell you. If it meant us finding Harry. I'd have already told you."

"I know." Spikings sighed. He knew there was no one that could doubt Chas' loyalty, even if it was sometimes misplaced. He watched as the younger man left the room. Something about the phone call bothered him. He just didn't know why.

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Harry had the worst headache she had ever known. Gingerly opening her eyes for what felt like the second time in decades she tried to focus. Her head spun as she rolled from her front onto one side, hoping against hope that she was no longer in the back of the van. Sighing in relief she realised she was in what appeared to be a warehouse. She breathed deeply as she tried to work out what on Earth was happening. One minute she had been with Dempsey about to arrest a group of armed robbers and then he was dead. And now she was here. It just seemed so unfair. Life is hard, Princess. Then you die.